Method and means for imparting intelligence



Nov. 3, 1931. E. A. SPERRY 3 METHOD AND MEANS FOR IMPARTiNG INTELLIGENCEFiled Nov. 18, 1924 2 Sheets-Sheet l (inventor.

Nee/25pm 2 btovn Nov. 3, 1931. E. A. SPERRY 1,830,041

METHOD AND MEANS FOR IMPARTII IG INTELLIGENCE Filed Nov. 18, 1924 2Sheets-Sheet 2 anvemtoz Patented Nov. ,3, 1931 unrrso- STATES PATENTOFFICE ELIMIEIEI, A. SPERBY, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOB, BY MESNEASSIGNMENTS, I TO SPERBY GYBOSCOPE GOM'PANY, INC., A CORPORATION OF NEWYOB;

Application filed November 18, 1924. Serial No. 750,695.

This invention relates generally to a method of and means for impartingintelligence which consists essentially in the for- -mation of anair-borne or supported screen and projector means for throwing upon saldscreen various characters or symbols to be displayed. The invention isnot limited to any particular type of screen but includes every typewhich employs a screen that is supported by air and which further can bereadily laid or hung in any desired position in the atmosphere. Such ascreen ma be laid by a vessel, but my invention has een described inconnection with an aircraft which can supply such a screen in anydesired position over landor water in the atmosphere. My inventioncontemplates more particularly the provision of means for con stantlyrenewing the screen if the latter, isof the smoke or vapor type andlikely to be dissipated.

My invention has for a further object the provision of means "forsupplying an airg1 supported screen or curtain with a plurality ofprojectors for utilizing individual" and separate portions of saidscreenas separate units each imparting its own unit of intelligence.

A further object of my invention is the provision of projectors for usein the combi-' nation outlined above, which are so con struc-ted thatthey are capable of projecting an image upon the screen without at thesame time projecting a shadow from the image of the are or are lampemployed in 7 said projector.

course, that the projecting lens system em- It will be understood, of

ployed in said pro ector is one having extremely long conjugate foci,which may be several thousands of feet. depending upon the distance ofthe screen from the projector.

Other objects and advantages of this invention will be in part apparentand in part pointed out in the following detailed specification and itwill be obvious that many features of my projector lamp have generalapplication to the art of picture projection apparatus, especially wherethe screen is some distance from the projector.

In the accompanying drawings Fig. 1 is a view illustrating one method ofsaid curtains are equi-distant from the cooperating projectors.

Fig. 5 is a View showing the method of projecting intelligence from aplurality of projectors onto a plurality of screens, which in thisinstance, are in the same vertical plane. v

Fig. 6 is a vertical section through the projector of Fig. 3.

Fig. 7 is a perspective view, largely diaammatic and with parts.omitted, of a modified form of my invention particularly designed tosolve the problem of cooling the plate or film.

Fig. 8 is a front view of the device shown in Fig. 7.

Referring to the drawings I have illustrated my invention in connectionwith airsupported screens or curtains adapted to be hung or laid byaircraft although, as hereinbefore stated, other means may be devised.When employing aircraft for-the purpose, the said craft may fly back andforth in a substantially figure 8 course, emitting at the same time avisible vapor havin a density greater than air so that it descen sgradually by gravity and'forms a screen or curtain sufliciently opaqueto provide a background *jor images projected thereon. The means forproviding this vapor is well known in the art and any suitable method ofemit ting a visible vapor may be employed. The aircraft retraces itscourse continually thus constantly replenishing the curtain or screenwhich would otherwise tend to be dissipated. Where but a single screenis to be employed it maybe desirable to utilize that portion adjacentthelobes of the figure 8 as this porequidistant from the center. It will beap parent that any portion of such a screen may be employed as abackground upon which images may be thrown.

Smce these curtalns are of huge size and p the images correspondinglylarge, itmay be necessary to employ a plurality of projectors as shownin Figs. & and 5. In Fig. 4 the projectors are 50 arranged as to throwthe images radially from the central platform toward the circularscreen. In Fig. 5 the projectors are arranged in alignment to projectthe images substantially equal distances to the aligned screens.

Because of the "fact that theilna e is to be thrown a very long distanceand because of the factthat it is not desired to project an image of thearc, it is necessary to modify in several particulars the reflector arclamp when such lamp is utilized as the projector. Referring to Fig. 3,it will be observed that the lamp comprises a drum 30 having a conicalforward extension 31, said drum and extension being universally mounted,and a support 32. Such mounting includes the pivoting of the drum foroscillation about a horizontalaxis in bracket 33, which is in turnsupported for rotation about a vertical axis in the support or stand 32.The weight of this conical extension 31 may be counterbalanced by aweight 35 attached to the rear end of the drum and adjustably supportedupon a bar 36 by means of an adjustment screw37. In order to permit theoperator to actuate the lamp from a substantial distance so that he mayview the image, there may be provided a remote control one form of whichmay consist of an arm 38 of any desired or suitable length fixed to thejournals carried by drum 30 whereby said drum is supported in bracket 33and having a handle 39 at its outer end so that by rotating the handlethe drum will be oscillated about a horizontal axis. By merely takinghold of rod 36 or handle 39 and operating the drum about the verticalaxis of the mounting of bracket 33 in stand 32 the drum may be adjustedin azimuth so that the image may beproperly thrown upon the screen, or,if desired, so that the image may be thrown always upon the freshly laidportion of the screen which will necessitate movement of the projectorin a direction to cause the ima e to follow the path of the craftemployed in laying the screen. Remote control of the projectors isthereby obtained both in a vertical and a horizontal plane or in anycombination of said planes.

Referring now to Fig. 6, there is mounted within the drum a suitableform of arc lamp mechanism, preferably of the high intensity type, whichis shown as comprising the electrode holder 42 for the positiveelectrode 44 which normally faces the reflector, and the holder 41 forthe negative holder 43 which is placed between the positive electrodeandthe reflector. Said arc is controlled and regulated by the usualmechanism in the control box 45. Preferably the negative electrode ispositioned at a substantial angle to the positive so as to lie out ofthe incident beam between the crater of the positive electrode and thereflector. Adjacent the rear of the drum is supported a parabolic mirroror reflector 46 for projecting the rays from the are through the slideor object to the objective. In order not to project an image or shadowfrom the arc lamp itself, it will be observed that the mirror isinclined slightly upwardly so that the arc and the entire arc lampmechanism is to one side of the mirror 'axis. As shown, the arc lamp isso placed that the reflected rays from the mirror converge ,on adiverging or concave lens 50, which is placed fairly close to thereflector and on the opposite side of the axis of the reflector from thearc. The lens 50 transmits a beam of light which is only very slightlydivergent throu h the slide or object holder 52, which may be carried bythe extension 31 in front of said lens 50, said slide supporting animage producing element, such as a transparent plate or other object tobe projected. The light then passes through the focusing or objectivelens 51 at the front of the conical extension 31. .It should be observedthatthe arc lamp mechanism is so placed with reference to the reflectedbeam from the mirror to the lens 50 as to lie entirely without said beamas indicated by the dotted line connecting the lower edge of thereflector with the lower edge of said lens. This is rendered possiblenot only by positioning the arc to one side of the optical axis of thereflector but also by so positioning it that the reflected rays convergerapidly, close to the reflector so that the lamp mechanism lies withoutthe cone of the light produced thereby. The holder 52 is placed near thefocus of lens 51 so that the conjugate focus of the image will beextremely long, perhaps several thousand feet, to permit operation ofthe device through great distances.

The adjustment or focusing of lens 51 may be accomplished by means suchas a sleeve 55 in which said lens is mounted, said sleeve be- .ingslidable within the end of extension 31.

The sleeve has pivotally connected thereto a link 56 whose other endengages a rack 57 with which meshes a pinion 58 at the end of an arm 59which may be actuated by a handle 60. Said rod 59 may be ofany suitablelength to permit remote-control. Any other suita 1e ad usting mechanismmay also be employed in place of the adjusting mechanism shown.

Another requisite for projection at great distances is a light source ofthe highest intensity which means that greait heat at the point ofreconcentration of the beam at plate 52 and lens 50. It has "beendefinitely deter= mined that only stencils cut in thin metal willwithstand this heat for stills when the plate remains in the beam unlesshigh intensity cooling means is employed. One such method may consist indirecting air jets up- .on the plate as shown at 52' to sweep away theheat and preserve the film or plate. A jet such as 52 applied 'on eitherone or both sides of lens 50 may also be employed for the purpose ofkeeping the temperature of said lens within limits. The cooling meansfor the image producing element and for the lens may beoperated from thesame source of power that is eniployed for operating the lamp mechanismrotating the carbons and ventilating the drum.

An alternative method of cooling is to run a film either from reel toreel or in the form of an endless band as illustrated in Fig. 7

.where a moving film is operated in place of the stencil or plate 52 asby a suitable intermittent driving mechanism 71 synchronizing with ashutter 7 2 of the motion picture type. Where the image to be projectedis to be a still picture, each unit of the band 70 will bear the samepicture, but where the projected image is to be a moving picture, eachunit of the band will be progressively different from the precedingunits. When an endless band is used one side thereof will pass throughcasing 31 in place of slide 52 while the opposite side will bedeflected, preferably by its own weight, so that it is positionedoutside of the beam. The film outside the casing may be supported in anysuitabie manner as by brackets 75. By this method each film or plateunit of the band is exposed only instantaneously so that over-heating ofthe film will not take place. This system may be employed either aloneoi' in connection with the air jets 52', 52" hereinbefore described.

In accordance with the provisions of the patent statutes, I have hereindescribed the principle and operation of my invention, together with theapparatus which I now consider to represent the best embodiment thereof,but I desire to have it understood that the apparatus shown is onlyillustrative and that the invention can be carried out by other means.Also, while it is designed to use the various features and elements inthe combination and relations described, some of these may be alteredand others omitted without interfering with the more general resultsoutlined, and the invention extends to such use.

Having described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure byLetters Patent 1s:

1. In a projector for projecting images on distant clouds, smoke orother screens, a reflector, an objective, a source of light positionedto one side of the axis of said reflector, and a concave lens positionedon the opposite side of said axis to transmit substantially parallelrays through the object to said objective.

2. In a projector for projecting images on distant clouds, smoke orotherscreens, a reflector, an arc lamp with all parts thereof.

positioned to one side of the axis of said reflector, and an objectholder positioned on the other side'of said axis in the path of thereflected beam, said lamp being entirely without the path of the beamstriking the said object holder.

3. In a projector, a reflector, an objective, :1 source of lightpositioned to one side 0 the axis of said reflector, a lens positionedon the oppoiste side of said axis, and an object holder positionedbetween said lens and said objective.

4. In a projector, a reflector, an object holder, an objective, an arclamp positioned with all parts thereof to one side of the optical axisof said reflector, and a concave lens positioned on the opposite side ofsaid axis and adapted to collect only the converging rays from saidreflector which do not strike said lamp and to transmit the rays throughthe object holder to the objective.

5. In a projector for projecting the image of an object on a distantcIoud, smoke screen or other object, a reflector, an arc lamp comprisinga positive electrode holder facing the reflector and positioned withoutthe beam from said reflector, and a negat've holder facing the firstnamed holder and inclined at such an angle thereto that the negativeelectrode and holder lie Without both the incident and reflected beamsfrom the positive prising a positive electrode facing the reflector anda negative electrode between the positive electrode and the reflector,an ob ect holder in front of said reflector and beyond said are lamp,and an objective lens, the said holder being placed near the focus ofsaid lens so that the-conjugate focus of the image is very long, saidlamp being positioned out of focus with respect to said re-' flector andsaid reflector being designed to reflect a converging beam whereby theare lamp image or shadow is prevented from being projected with theprojection of the object.

8. In a projector for projecting the image of an object on a distantcloud. smoke or other screen, comprising a high intensity are lampmechanism, a reflector, a spread lens; an

image-producing element, means for supporting said element in theconcentrated beam of said projector beyond said lens, and means fordirecting an air stream against said element for cooling the same.

In testimony whereof I haie afiixed my ELMER A. SPERRY.

signature.

